Words and Photograph by Cynthia Nunes
You see the artic fox on the subway. You see it in collegehallways. You can find it in Starbucks. Fjallraven Kanken, the popular backpackwith the red and white logo that translates as “The Arctic Fox,” is everywhere. The Kankenbackpack has become popular among college students. It has even gainedpopularity around the world as an iconic and handy Swedish export.
“They are light and comfy. I have five of them in differentcolors,” says Anamica, a fellow City College student. The Swedish manufacturerFjallraven hit on something in 1978 when it came up with the idea to create a backpackthat is described on its website as, “…simple, stylish, and functional.” The lightweightbackpack was originally designed for young Swedish school kids after manyseemed to develop back problems because of the heavy loads of books theycarried. An old Swedish saying, “Straight backs are happy backs,” inspired thedesigner.
On the City College campus, students who carry the backpackagree with the saying. Even though the $50-$150price range makes it a splurge, people will buy them to keep up with a trend. Notonly are they trendy but are more practical than other backpacks. When you seethem hanging in Urban Outfitters and other retailers, they seem small. But therectangular shape allows you to stuff a lot in without destroying theshape.
Brianna, a shopper at Urban Outfitters hesitated beforebuying a second Artic Fox. Shecomplained about her first bag. “It looks great, but I wouldn’t have bought itif I knew it got dirty this quickly. It collects dust easily and shows on lightcolors.” Yet many people like the backpack’s ecofriendly material made ofrecycled polyester, G-1000 Eco and traceable wool. It is also made of durable, lightweight VinylonF.
The Kanken has a large main compartment with a wide opening,two side pockets, a zippered pocket in the front, handle at the top, narrow,supple shoulder straps, a sitting pad in the pocket, and logo that doubles as areflector. And that helpedpropel its popularity. The manufacturer likes to promote its environmental workand that’s one reason that the bag was named after the endangered artic fox. Itsays it is, “honoring the small highly adaptable predator that lives in theSwedish mountains under the harshest conditions.”
The Fjallraven website states that, “Our core mission and driving force has always been, andalways will be, to enable and inspire more people to spend time in nature…wedon’t chase short-term goals, follow trends or compromise on quality.” Ironically,many people on campus now wear them because they are trending, not because ithas anything to do with nature.
